The Stars Apart
by 8 Acres East
Summary: Leon's shoulders shake as his head falls onto his knees. It takes Roxina a few seconds to realize that he is holding in laughter. Then, it can't be contained, and Leon's head is thrown back. His mouth shoots bullets around the room when it laughs. "You mean to say. This whole damn time—you've been—a maid. A maid. In Xemnas' headquarters? For Xemnas. Laundry. For twelve years?"
1. Chapter 1

**The Stars Apart**

 **8 Acres East**

 ** _This is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart—I carry your heart (I carry it in my heart)_**

 ** _e.e. cummings_**

The library in The World That Never Was is stark white and cold, lifeless. Even without Vexen, it remains as unwelcoming as he is. Yet still, in her morning chores, she lingers longest here. Several times (whenever the scientist was gone, and every day since he's been dead), she's pulled the books from the shelves. She's leafed through the atlas map of the sprawling worlds, tested words like _Traverse Town_ and _Radiant Garden_ and _Destiny Islands_ , though she's uncertain as to why. Perhaps her memory of such words is strong. Perhaps the Her she was in Before would know these names and these places.

Axel mentioned once, off-handedly, that the memories were slow to return. Of all the Organization, he's been friendliest over the years. She figures they must have been friends, Before. Now, with the disappearance of Xion and the loss of Roxas, she's possibly the only friend he has left.

She knows she is a Nobody. She knows she has no heart. She's not a Heartless, though, because she still has a soul. A soul and a body. Was Her heart too strong to just disappear? Her heart was killed, and so it split in two: one Heartless plus one Nobody (she'd been caught in the corridor by Vexen one too many times, and now knows a bit too much about her biology).

She runs her fingers over the spines of books. She pauses over a volume of poems. She sets the duster down on the gray metal table and pulls the book from the shelf gently. The spine settles against her palm, and the book falls open to a page marked with a dried flower. She sets Marluxia's hidden treasure to the side. The smell of mildewed pages stirs something within her—a memory, perhaps.

She reads (out loud, because poetry sounds better that way, or maybe it feels too quiet here)…

" _I carry your heart. I carry it in my heart. I am never without it. Anywhere I go you go, my dear, and whatever is done by only me is your doing, my darling_." Her voice is a sweet soprano. The words fall like petals on the wind. She thinks of petals on wind. She thinks of feathers.

"Does it make you feel?"

She starts, dropping the book on the stone floor, clattering back against the table. The feather duster, caught by her hand, clatters against the ground. She swoops down to pick the duster up, blushing. "A-axel," she stutters, "Axel, you scared me."

Number VIII towers in the doorway, a large box hefted under a skinny arm. He saunters into the room, bright green eyes sweeping across the bookshelves, ever curious. He slides the box onto the table with a low chuckle, picking up the dried flower in its place. He pinches the flower between two gloved fingers.

"Now now, Roxina," he murmurs, studying the makeshift bookmark, "I don't think we Nobodies can really feel scared, can we?"

Roxina wields the feather duster with flair, fully recovered from the pyro's shocking entrance. She swats at one of the fiery red spikes that descend from his scalp. Axel wrinkles his nose, stepping back with a grunt. "I've certainly scared you a time or two, Pyro!" she retorts.

Axel's lean body folds over, and he gracefully retrieves the book of poems. "Ah yes, the terrifying head maid of Castle Oblivion. Lurking around every corner. Waiting to strike." Roxina laughs despite herself. He slides the dry flower, a faded red rose, in between two pages towards the middle. He replaces the book, a faded red cover. It becomes lost between the bright spines of its neighbors. His green eyes narrow at her. "The Superior wants us to meet with Saix for a mission debrief. One hour. That'll be…two thirty. Got it memorized?"

"Us? Me?" Roxina's eyebrows knit together. "But I'm not even a number." She snakes an arm behind her back to clasp the opposite elbow. The black leather is soft and cool to touch. Even the Castle's wait staff (comprised of weaker Nobodies and managed by Roxina herself) wore the black trench coats. Larxene had been mistaken as a chambermaid once, and the results were disastrous.

Axel shrugs. "Not my problem. Oh—" he gestures to the box. "Boss man wanted me to give you this, too."

Roxina cocks her head to the side. "What is it?"

"Dunno." And Axel leaves. Demyx pokes his head in the library, winks at Roxina, studies the box for one brief moment, and follows Axel down the hallway. The library is empty once again.

Roxina approaches the box cautiously. It's a sort of hard black plastic. She flips the latches and lifts the lid. Nestled in gray foam is a weapon and somehow before her brain has the words she is able to speak the name, " _Shooting Star_."

It's round, like Axel's weapons, but hers is attached to a sort of arm crossbow. Creamy feathers hide razor-sharp spikes.

Roxina sighs, exasperated.

"I don't even know how to use this," she grumbles. She lowers the lid and makes for the door, box held awkwardly across her chest.

Xigbar found her in a world known as Arendell, three years ago. She'd been wandering in the snow, lips as blue as her duster. It took her two years to speak, and even then, it was in fragments. Small sentences, like a toddler. It had taken her so long to speak that Xemnas thought it best she remain numberless, off-duty.

Until…now?

She pauses in the doorway. She's not sure what will happen next.

Roxina checks the corridor. Clear. Roxina sets the box on the ground. In three steps, she's back in front of the bookshelf, and in one smooth motion, she's pulled the book from the shelf and opened to the poem again. She pinches the page between two fingers and gently tugs. The page rips cleanly away from the spine.

 _I carry your heart. I carry it in my heart._

The words are so haunting. She 'feels'—couldn't a body without a heart but with a soul still feel?—she _feels_ these words can't be left behind.

The page is folded, tucked away in a pocket of the trench coat. Roxina picks up her weapon and leaves the library. She needs to mop Naught's Skyway, and she needs to tell another one of the Houseless Maids to take over cleaning in Where Nothing Gathers (which is a room where Nothing _But Dust_ Gathers, if you ask Roxina).

Naught's Skyway, then to the Gray Area, where Saix will deliver the mission brief. Roxina thinks of the atlas in the library—her fingers twitch, excited to travel somewhere new. Dusting is only so exciting.

If Nobodies had hearts, hers would be rattling inside the ribcage. As she walks, Roxina lifts a hand to clutch the silver cloak tassel near her throat. The sharp edges of the chain always surprise her, every time, but she doesn't really know what she's expecting to hold instead. She's always done that motion. Habitually. Always when convinced that she should feel nervous. She's always done that, and she's not sure why.

* * *

Axel is just the messenger. Got it memorized?

That's why he shrugs off Demyx's questions. Yet Demyx is _still_ following him.

"Why would the Superior pick a weak thing like her, anyways? She's not going to be the new Number XIII anytime soon. She's not going to be _anything_ , if she keeps moping around, trying to find her memories. She'll probably end up in the same place as Roxas and Xion, wherever they went."

Hits a sore spot.

"Look, Rock Star," he snarls, "Memories are all we got. Unlike you and me, some people kind of _miss_ their heart, and they're looking for anything to make it seem like it came back to them. So lay off Roxina and just let us do the damn mission and we'll leave the Show and Tell for whenever the hell we get back, alright?"

Demyx has the slack-jawed look of a cow. "Well gosh, Eight, I was just curious."

"Tch." Axel folds his arms and sneers down at the blonde. "Go learn a riff."

The blonde flashes a pathetic middle finger before turning tail and fleeing—which really just makes Axel laugh out loud.

Even so…Axel enters the Gray Area with a grimace.

Saix is hunched over a computer screen, tapping away at the keys. It's like watching an ape at a typewriter—the Nobody is comically large compared to the small machine.

It's two o'clock.

Axel flops into a chair, lazily twirling a chakram. Saix glances his way once, returning to the screen. He clicks the mouse once, and the printer starts to whirr.

"You're headed to Hollow Bastion," he says, voice like gravel.

Axel scratches one skinny shoulder blade with his chakram. "And what does this have to do with Roxina?" he asks. "Why call me in earlier if we're going on the same mission?"

Saix places one large hand on the side of the computer, turning it so that Axel can view a grainy photo onscreen. A picture of a familiar man. One who's foiled their plans at every turn. One who Lea knew well.

"Squall Leonhart." Axel croaks out the name of his former friend. Sparring partner. Classmate. Rival.

Saix rights the computer once more, typing as he speaks.

"Goes by Leon now. He's been single-handedly defending Hollow Bastion ever since Maleficent's defeat. He's every knight, bishop, and rook on the other side of the chess board. The Superior wants him gone."

Axel stands, wandering aimlessly towards the large window. "Well of course he does. He has for years." The glow of Kingdom Hearts draws his eyes effortlessly. "Still," Axel murmurs, "I fail to see how this relates to our Head Housekeeper."

"In this particular game of chess, Roxina is the Queen."

Axel might have paled a bit—but louder, he laughs. "She's got royal looks, sure. Still, I doubt the Head Houseless Maid is a power player on this stage."

Saix presses one final key and rises, coming to stand beside Axel. "Don't tell me you can't guess who Roxina was," he growls. Stubbornly, Axel bares his teeth back, about to spit out a retort.

The bright click and whirr of the printer dissipates the tension momentarily. The Berserker backs away, retreating to the desk.

Saix lifts a stack of papers from the printer, securing them within a manilla case folder, which has the Organization XIII insignia across the front. "Have you ever heard of the Princesses of Heart?" he asks, changing course.

Axel scoffs. "Has anyone _not?_ " He laughs. "Maleficent started sounding like a broken record years ago."

Saix sets his mouth in a line. "And how many are there?"

Axel sighs. "Seven."

"Name them."

"Pale Girl, Pants, Shorty, Sleeper, Bookworm, Foot, and Kairi."

Saix raises an eyebrow. "You only remember one name?" he asks, mildly curious.

"There's only one worth remembering," Axel mutters. "You know that as well as I do, Isa. We babysat her. We know her brothers. Well…knew."

Saix ignores the comment. The room is full of his silence.

"Did you ever wonder how Alice became a Princess of Heart?" Saix rises and begins to pace the room. "Odd choice by Kingdom Hearts, is it not? How pure does a heart have to be to follow a rabbit? It was curiosity, not bravery. It was boredom, not light. So how did she attain it?"

Axel shrugs. "Hell if I know." His eyes stay on the pearlescent sheen of Kingdom Hearts, even as Said crosses his path.

"When old Princesses die, new Princesses rise." Saix leans against the corner of his desk. "The pure light is a parasite. It attaches itself to the nearest pure vessel. A Princess died before Alice claimed Light. That would be…eleven years ago. Now think back. Who should the seventh princess of light really be?"

As Saix speaks, Axel's eyes bore a hole through Kingdom Hearts, peel back the moon and look through the night sky to what might lie beyond. He considers the girl who taught him the name of the constellations in another lifetime. The girl whose heart was so pure, it sprouted wings much whiter than Pale Girl's underwhelming complexion. Whose heart was so strong, it drew out the light from a walking brick wall. A heart that sang in its sacrifice.

"I see," Axel finally replies.

Saix nods and returns to his seat behind the desk. "The Superior wants to harness her light somehow. That's why she's been kept here so long."

Axel nods absently. "Of course. But isn't it too late for that? She's a nobody."

Saix tosses the mission brief into Axel's quick-catching hands. "Vexen was beginning to uncover some data on heart re-cultivation. If Roxina can grow back her heart, we can trap its light. And according to Zexion, it may be a simple question of finding the right catalyst."

"Which would be…Squall."

"Leon."

"Whatever."

Friend. Sparring partner. Classmate. Rival.

Some people kind of miss their hearts. Axel is one of them.

Axel snaps the file shut and sends it bursting into angry red flames. "So what, just kill the Human and snatch Roxina's new heart? Shouldn't be too difficult. After all, she had no heart before. She's not going to miss it." He swipes his gloved palms together, spilling the ashes all over the carpet (which Roxina would definitely have hated). He stands, wandering aimlessly towards the large window. The glow of Kingdom Hearts draws his eyes effortlessly.

Saix sets his mouth in a stern line. "I wish you'd at least read the briefs. We've planted a Heartless in Hollow Bastion to attract Leonhart. You and Roxina will be waiting for him. Kill him. And note here, Axel. You also must provoke Roxina into Angel Wing and…ah, _extinguish_ her as well. Completely."

 _Extinguish_.

Axel whirls. "Why?!" His voice echoes in the large room.

"The pure light of Angel Wing…releasing such power would catalyze the growth of her strongest heart. That's the only heart strong enough to use for our own heart regrowth."

Axel simmers, eyes aglow. "And if you got a heart back, Isa, would you recognize it?"

Saix opens his mouth, but has to bite back whatever comment he might have had—Roxina has opened the door.

Axel eyes the caramel highlights, the big brown eyes, the white-feathered pinwheel on her arm. She's fidgeting with the straps around her wrist. "Am I late?" she inquires softly.

Axel shakes his head, sits back down in the seat, motions for her to join. "No, Princess. Actually, a bit early." He crosses his arms, simmering over the irony of what had once been a simple nickname.

Saix produces another file (though with a different mission brief, Axel assumes). Number VII respectfully hands the file over to Roxina.

"Your first mission, Roxina. Are you nervous?" Saix's voice is so forcefully pleasant that Axel has to choke back a few choice words.

Roxina shakes her head, fist over her chest. "As long as Axel's there, I'll be fine." She glows at the redhead, which makes Axel go a little weak at the knees (heart or no heart, who wouldn't?). And maybe if he had a heart, he'd have felt a little guilty too. Roxina faces Saix once more. "What's the mission?"

Axel licks his teeth, studies the heart-shaped moon as Saix speaks.

Saix folds his hands across the desk. "There's a Heartless wandering through Hollow Bastion, where Maleficent used to reside. It's a very rare species of Mushroom. The Superior thinks it will be of use to us." Axel seals his angry fists inside the generous sleeves of the uniform.

"Of use for what?" Roxina asks.

"We think there is something in this Heartless that is the key to regaining our memories, and possibly our hearts as well."

Roxina scoots to the edge of her seat. "Is that so? I thought Nobodies—"

"Vexen's research has been disproving itself as Zexion completes further studies," Saix interrupts to answer. "This Heartless needs to return to us alive. You and Axel have been chosen because you both use distance weapons. We think that you two can incapacitate it without killing it or injuring yourselves."

Axel coughs loudly. Roxina pats his back quizzically, and Saix glowers.

"The rest of the equipment is with Zexion. The Mushroom will require a special…containment shield." Saix rolls his eyes to Axel, raising one eyebrow. Axel scowls.

"All this work over a…Mushroom?" he drawls. "Wouldn't it be better to focus our efforts elsewhere, like on Sora?" He hopes that Saix won't miss his meaning. Which is, leave his _last remaining friend_ alone.

Saix rises from his desk, indifferent. "You leave in three hours."

Roxina holds up her arm, and one of the feathers tickles the edge of Axel's chair. "I don't know how to use this, you know." Roxina admits.

Saix smiles, an ugly thing. "Axel will show you. Perhaps a quick training session is in order. Nevertheless, I've got a feeling you'll catch on quickly." He holds up a hand to Roxina's opening mouth. "Dismissed."

Axel stands. "Always a pleasure, Moonbeam," he says airily. He throws his arm around the giggling Roxina and together they set off for Crooked Ascension, which has an elevator that takes them to The Hangar That Never Was (which has a real name that Axel—ironically, Axel—has forgotten).

* * *

The Cavern of Remembrance is damp, dark, and infested with Heartless. The Restoration Committee hates this place; Leon loves it. Few dare to bother him here.

A membership card (one that Leon printed off the Internet and 'laminated' with packaging tape) becomes _the keyhole at the heart of this world_. A new type of enemy called a Nobody is invading. A group of people, all with an affinity for black leather, is up to something sinister. Sora's back, and it's as confusing as ever.

Cid's trying to figure out a computer system, Aerith's trying to uncover more of Ansem's secrets, and Yuffie's trying to cook a meal. Leon's trying to puzzle together the intentions of this Organization XIII. They're all waiting on edge for Sora to come back and kickstart the next adventure.

Leadership attached itself to Leon the same way that Keyblade did to Sora—permanently and without permission. But where a weapon like that gave Sora the freedom to span worlds, Leon's powerful roles grew more confining. The newly remembered Sora got to frolick across the Universe, but still, and evermore, Leon is tethered to this rundown world.

At dawn Leon strapped Lionheart to his back and stalked off to find a fight. Because the waiting is insufferable. Aerith has promised to hold down the fort until his return from the Cavern. Which—Leon considers, as he vigorously punctures a Heartless blob—might be never.

Leon fires the gun, and two more Heartless go down. He slides his blade neatly through a row of Heartless Soldiers—the tin helmets breaking against his sword make a satisfying _shhhhink._

The tune of this death stroke is disrupted by the ring tones of the cell phone clipped to his belt.

 _ **And though I know**_

 _ **the world of real emotion has surrounded me**_

 _ **I won't give in to it**_

The fact that he has reception in the cave is not half as extraordinary as it is frustrating. With a growl, Leon hacks down on the nearest Heartless as he flicks his wrist, unfolding the phone with one hand.

"Dammit, Yuffie, quit changing my ringtone."

" _Quit using your birth date as the passcode._ "

Leon scowls and punts a Blue Rhapsody across the cavern floor. It explodes against a purple stalagmite. "Well, what do you want?"

" _Geez, jerk, don't sound too eager."_

"Get on with it, Yuffie, I'm fighting one-handed." Which doesn't stop him from punching through a Knight's chest. The dissolving darkness leaves chill bumps on his forearm.

 _"Cid's got the computer up and going, and it cranked out some data on a powerful Heartless in your vicinity. We think it might be part of why there are so many Heartless around these days. Sending the info…now!"_

Leon's phone chimes as the report clears. He pulls the phone away from his ear and presses down on one button. A holograph emits from the phone and just like that, a computerized image of a large, leonine Heartless is hovering over his phone. For a moment, Leon is shocked, but with a wakefulness—the sudden adrenaline rush that sharpens your vision until your eyes cross—he recognizes the monster.

"Griever," he murmurs, and in the background of his senses, Yuffie scolds him for mumbling.

It is like Griever, but not. Griever was silver, red-eyed, massive and fiery with life. This Heartless version, stalking in a circle within the greenish sphere of a hologram—it is not as _alive_ , but definitely as deadly.

" _Squall?_ "

Leon snarls, feels a bubbling rage. Because twelve years ago, Squall Leonhart defeated a sorceress named Ultimecia and her guardian force, Griever, with the help of his classmates at Radiant Garden's SeeD Academy. Little did they know, Ultimecia was a puppet; a prelude to the coming darkness. One year following, Maleficent wrecked this world. Quistis, Irvine, Lea, Isa, Tifa, Zell, _Rinoa_ —all gone. Twelve years ago, one of the world's threats was _defeated_ , and damn it all, it needed to stay that way.

Yuffie's voice echoes in the cavern.

" _Aerith and I are gathering our things and we can meet you-"_

"No." Leon's voice is harsh and unarguable. "I'll handle this alone."

" _But Squall—"_

"It's not a Heartless." (Or, at least, it shouldn't be.) "This fight is mine." Leon stabs at three Neoshadows, each hit emphasizing his next words: "End. Of. Discussion."

He closes the phone in one fist, stuffing it into his pocket. Ultimecia is undeniably dead. How did Griever return? Unknown... _irrelevant_. Leon cuts down a Darkball with a growl. He slices through a swath of Shadows, and begins his ascent from the Cavern towards the crumbling edifice above.

* * *

 **8 Acres East**


	2. Chapter 2

**The Stars Apart**

 **Chapter 2**

* * *

 _She's in a cream-colored dress that slides against her skin as she walks. Heels are loud on marble. The smell of perfume, the taste of champagne. Piano notes._

 _She's in a sleeveless sky blue cloak. She's hugging the steel ladder that clings to the side of a speeding train. The wind is sharp enough to snatch away the tears in her eyes._

 _She's in a coffin but it has no lid and all she can see are the stars, brighter and more of them than she's ever seen before._

 _She's in a black leather jacket, there are feathers at her mouth. She's sitting on the edge of a rock watching the waterfall rise, and the stars are out, and she's not alone._

 _She's in a cream-colored dress that matches the marble floors. She points one finger to the sky and begins to walk. The waltz is familiar._

* * *

Roxina's eyes open suddenly, and she inhales, gripping the seat handles.

"Morning, Princess. Geez. You'd think the first time on a Gummi Ship would be a big deal, but no, you fell right asleep. Like a baby." Axel is at the controls, shifting gears and pushing buttons as he teases her.

Roxina cradles her head. "Forgot where I was for a moment."

Axel, shifting a gear into place that causes the words AUTOPILOT to flash onscreen. His arms go behind his head. He leans back, eyebrows raised. "What did you dream about?" His green eyes are sharp, curious.

Roxina purses her lips, trying to package her words correctly. "I was…I was in a lot of places…there were so many stars," she finishes lamely. "And…I was dancing."

Axel says nothing, only _hmmm_. Roxina knows him well enough to know that this is his noise for when he has thoughts he won't share.

Roxina strokes the feathers on her pinwheel, which leans against her chair. "I think it might have been a memory," she adds, hoping the comment will cause her companion to speak. "Do you think I might be remembering the life I had before?" She bites her lip, then dares: "Do _you_ remember _your_ past life, Axel?"

The redhead adjusts his leather gloves, stands, taps a few keystrokes on a panel above their heads. "Yes."

"Oh." Roxina clasps her hands between her knees shyly, studying her black-booted feet. She watches his profile, traces the black tear tattoo with her eyes. She waits for him to say more.

Silence.

Axel settles back down and presses a button on the side of his chair. It reclines. He throws a toothpick arm across his eyes. "We'll be there in a few. My turn for a power nap."

Roxina leans forward, pokes his arm. "That's it?"

"That's it," Axel mutters.

Roxina sticks out her tongue at him, pleased that he can't see it. "Well then…a few what? Minutes? Hours? Days?"

"Minutes. Now shut up."

"Do you actually have fun being so callous?" she lilts.

No answer. Just one (very fake, very loud) snore.

"Fine."

Roxina settles back in her chair, drums her fingers against the armrest. Outside the window, a world passes by, one that is a beautiful ocean blue. Quickly followed by one vibrant green, wild, tangled world. What color would this Hollow Bastion be? She glances at Axel. Then, satisfied that he is (truly) snoring, she reaches into a pocket of her cloak.

Not out loud this time—to respect her friend—but still, she can't help a small whisper…

" _I want no world, for beautiful you are my world, my true_."

The stars dart by as they move, casting lines of light across the interior of the Gummi Ship. Roxina's eyes draw away from the page to watch the sky.

The piano tune (at least, she thought it was a piano—Demyx had taught her a keyboard duet, once, and said pianos were similar) had been so familiar. Maybe She was a piano player, Before? Or maybe She would know the words to the waltz (and what was a _waltz_ , anyways?).

Memory belonged to the soul and the body, even if the heart was gone.

" _And it's you are whatever a moon has always meant, and whatever a sun will always sing is you."_

What did poetry belong to?

A screeching groan, and a sharp jerk. Roxina's seatbelt digs into her collarbone as she gasps for air. "A-a-axel!" She gropes for her friend as the lights in the Gummi Ship flicker. Her poem slips through her fingers as the room began to spin.

"Hold on, Princess!" Axel struggles against his seatbelt, grips the steering wheel in both hands. Flashes of red, flashes of stars, the room spins. "This world's gravity—brace yourself!"

Spots in her vision. The world screams and is black.

* * *

The world that rises to meet Axel is approaching too soon. He grits his teeth against the controls, trying to block out Roxina's screams. When they stop, he knows without glancing over that she has gone unconscious—so that means he definitely can't bow out at this time.

For a brief instant, Axel can see the Rising Falls, then everything is evergreen trees against groaning Gummi metal. The ship lands (eh, crashes) on a ledge between the Rising Falls and the Waterways that snake out like a ribbon across the landscape below. The window is flooded with engine smoke.

"Well. Aren't we off to a rousing start."

Axel gathers his chakrams, storing them away in a quick pop of light. He kicks fallen equipment back into the corners of the cockpit, only pausing once to rub at a sore shoulder. He turns over boxes and bins, trying to find what Saix intends for him to use. He needs to get it together fast—inhabitants will have noticed the crash.

He crosses past Roxina to check a storage bin above the chair behind her. Axel pauses at her sleeping face, studying the smooth eyelids, the rosy lips, and the hollow at the base of her exposed throat. He takes her head in both hands carefully, studying her scalp for any head wounds. He scans the rest of her body—seems to be in shape. His hands release her, fingers brushing light against her hair.

"Wake up, because I don't want to carry you," he sneers. " _He_ might have been willing to carry your sleeping ass across this world once, but _I'm_ certainly not."

There's a slip of paper on the floor of the cockpit by her foot. Axel stoops to pick it up. He scans the page and chuckles. He folds up the paper and slips it into Roxina's cloak pocket.

"For a Nobody, you've sure got a soft spot."

Axel digs through the cabinet and withdraws the Heartless radar, a gadget that is Zexion's pride and joy. He pockets that and continues to dig until he finds the intended capture weapon. A Bangle Net Rifle. Stupid name. It is somewhat like a crossbow, somewhat like a gun. Its ammo, if Saix is to be trusted, is an expandable MP reduction net that would render any magical attacks as harmless. And Axel hopes it's truly _expandable_ , because the gun is still small enough to strap across his back, and it's supposed to capture—it's supposed to hold—

The Gummi console beeps and stutters. Saix's voice comes across the static, and the static disperses to reveal his face as well.

"Eight, do you copy? Eight, do you copy?"

Axel jams down the green button. "Loud and clear, Boss Junior."

"Your ship disappeared from the Castle scanners. Have you arrived at the destination?"

"Yes. We had a 'creative landing', one might say." Axel jerks a thumb towards Roxina, even though he knows Saix won't see her onscreen. "Roxina's out like a light. I told you she wouldn't be useful." He crosses his arms. "She doesn't remember how to fight, and it's not like her Other was very good at it, either," he adds huffily. "She might die from a Heartless before I can even get down to it. If she's powerless to help herself, how's her power going to help out any of us?"

"If I didn't know any better," Saix responds calmly, "I'd say you have feelings for our housekeeper. What, can't bear to let another friend go?"

Axel rolls his eyes. "We. Don't. Have. HEARTS!" He slams a fist on the monitor, which begins to smoke.

Saix chuckles, and Axel is annoyed that he's let the berserker ruffle his feathers. "Look," he continues, more calm, "I'll find Leonhart and take him out. Then I'll find Sora and take _him_ out. Then I'll go find all those other princesses of heart and take _them_ out too. Roxina is barely necessary. I'm just trying to point out areas where we as an Organization can _perhaps_ be more _efficient_. That's all." He sets his jaw in a hard, straight line.

Saix pinches the bridge of his nose. "You and I both know that there's no other way. The bangle net rifle on your back is for _her_."

Axel's lips disappear into a narrow frown line. His eyes dart over to his companion—she's still fast asleep.

" _Your_ job is to make Roxina reach her limit. The Heartless I've planted is powerful, so it will happen." Saix crosses her arms. "That Bangle Net is for _her_. We want her captured in Angel Wing form. And if you've got Roxina strung up like bait at Hollow Bastion, Squall Leonhart will fall at your feet, and the rest of Hollow Bastion with him. This is the final and only plan."

Axel sucks his teeth. "Fine," he says. "Then so what about this Heartless?"

"Kill it, catch it," Saix mutters dismissively. "Either way is fine. It's just a pawn in the game."

Sick and tired of all this chess crap, Axel wants to mutter. Instead, he just pushes the green button with no remark, and the connection with Saix is severed. He stumbles on his way back to the pilot's chair and looks down at the offending obstacle. Roxina's weapon. It shed a few feathers in the crash, but overall, the crossbow is unharmed.

It's been ten minutes too long and Roxina is still asleep.

Axel sighs, strapping her _Shooting Star_ across his back too. The feather tickles the nape of his neck. He unbuckles her from the chair and lifts her, bridal style. Her head lands against his chest, and those chains and zippers are going to leave a nasty cheek imprint. Her hand curls around his cloak in a gross, sappy way. "Lose some weight," he tries to sneer.

He elbows hit the switch to open the Gummi Ship door. Dappled sunshine hits them through the forest trees. The smell of pine, the ice water taste of cold air. The smoke from the engine has stopped, but pieces of Gummi are strewn all over the forest floor. To be repaired…later. Above the tree line, the highest parapets of the tower touch the sky.

"Hollow Bastion," he murmurs, chin on her head. "But the real name is Radiant Garden. Got it memorized…Rinoa?"

No answer from the limp figure. They set out towards the Rising Falls, where hopefully some cold river water will awaken Sleeping Beauty.

* * *

Rising from the cavernous purple depths, Leon grunts as he swings himself over another ledge. Approaching Hollow Bastion from the opposite side as the Rising Falls is a more perilous ascent. He's been picking his footing carefully, and can only now stand at castle level. The sun is high in the sky.

Out of the Cavern, the churn and rustle of Heartless is less prominent. Hollow Bastion always carries a cold, empty wind, and Leon listens to the whistle with a touch of apprehension. What did the wind belie?

The area fills with the groaning roar of Griever—chillingly familiar. Leon's neck prickles at the sound. He widens his stance, steadying himself against the shaking ground.

Suddenly a bright light in the sky draws him. A flash of red and a thick trail of black engine smoke—a Gummi Ship careens into the forest by the Rising Falls. Leon isn't positive, but he thinks that he recognizes the white insignia on its side as an Organization XIII logo.

He withdraws the phone from his pocket and dials. The phone rings three times, then Aerith's soft voice says, "Hello, Cid's Shop?"

"Aerith, it's me."

"Leon!"

"There's a Gummi Ship crash at the Rising Forest. I don't recognize the ship. Go check it out, but don't go alone. Take Yuffie. I'll meet you as soon as I can."

"Cloud's here, you know."

Leon sighs, covering his eyes with one hand. Usually with Cloud came trouble. "Okay, well, take him too. I think it could be the Organization."

"Got it. Be careful, Leon."

The ground shakes with another roar.

"I will."

* * *

 _She is sitting in a field of flowers with a green-eyed girl, whose name rests at the tip of memory's tongue._

 _She is in a cream-colored dress, and he waltzes with her until the lights go down and the fireworks start._

 _She is walking through the market and suddenly darkness closes, yellow beaded eyes surround._

 _She releases Shooting Star and he swings a blade and she screams it—she almost has it._

 _Almost._

 _She almost has his name._

 _Squ—_

* * *

Roxina splutters, swiping at her cold wet face. Axel is laughing.

She propels herself forward and shoves him right in the chest. "You meany!" she cries. Because her face is _cold_. Axel barely falls backwards and is still laughing.

Roxina blinks against the bright rays of the mid-morning sun. She swivels her head, looks around. Stone platforms and ledges are arrayed across the space. She and Axel sit at the bottom of waterfalls that are going up. She reaches out a hand towards the closest water, watching as her fingers make spaces in the flow that go up. "How unusual," she breathes.

Axel crosses his arms. "Coincidentally, they're called The Rising Falls," he lilts teasingly.

"Whatever," and Roxina is puzzled by this word she's chosen to use.

Roxina studies the forest behind them, the castle before them. "You carried me here?"

Axel shrugs. "Yeah."

Roxina studies his profile for a beat then, with little hesitation, wraps her arms around his way too skinny waist. "Thanks."

Axel pries her away immediately, as she knew he would. "Hey, now, Nobodies—"

"—don't hug. I get it." Roxina clasps her hands behind her back.

"Yeah well, get it memorized and don't do it again."

Then both are silent, because really, why would Roxina even deign to reply to _that_?

The silence is disrupted by a deafening groan, a roar that is both animal and machine and sends the proverbial chills down Roxina's spine (yet, she tells herself, as Axel said, Nobodies don't _feel_ scared, right?). It booms across the Rising Falls, shakes the ground in its fury. Roxina stumbles.

"W-what was that?"

Axel is holding out some small black box, studying the green blinking image. "Probably a Heartless," he replies flatly. "We might see some on the way to find that Mushroom. Be ready."

He unbuckles a strap at his shoulder and holds out _Shooting Star_ , a peace offering.

Roxina straps it on her wrist with self-assurance. She smiles at Axel. The two of them begin to leap from platform to platform.

"I had another memory dream," she shares, between jumps. "I think it will help me fight with Shooting Star."

Another jump. Rocks crumble beneath her boots, a satisfying crunch.

"But another Other was with me. I think" (jump) "I think I'll always need someone with me, if I have to fight."

Jumps again, and this time tweaks her ankle, looses a small yelp. Axel pauses to let her rest. They are at the top of the Falls now, on a ledge with a crumbling set of columns. She sprawls on the stone ground, and he settles on a column stump.

"If I had a heart, I'd be really grateful that you were fighting with me, Axel." She rests her hands on her knees and smiles up at him.

Green eyes narrow. His proud nose turns up to the castle.

"You're the only Nobody I know that bares all of your secrets," he mutters.

Roxina chuckles, massaging her ankle with a gloved hand. "Secrets belong to the heart, but the soul should be transparent," she retorts. "Got it memorized?" She throws in that last mimic on a whim.

Axel sighs exasperatedly, scratches his shoulder lightly with one point on the chakram. "Now where'd you get an idea like that?"

"From a book," she retorts cheekily. "Or _maybe_ I just know it to be true."

Axel scoffs. "Yeah right. A transparent soul, sharing all of itself with others? That's one heck of a high hope. Especially when you don't have a heart."

"It just takes practice," Roxina replies softly. "To give away pieces of yourself." She fixes him with a piercing gaze, steady on her feet once more. "And to keep doing it, even if the ones you've shared with disappear."

Axel sneers, and she knows he understands her meaning. "Roxas and Xion haven't _disappeared_ ," he asserts. "They're… _temporarily misplaced_."

Griever's bone-chilling roar pierces the sky once more, louder and fuller than it was at the base of the Falls. Roxina's balance is shaky, and she grasps Axel's wrist to steady herself as a moving platform approaches them.

Axel pulls from her grip, brow furrowed. She follows him onto the moving platform. The harsh wind puts tears in her eyes, but Axel faces it head on, unflinching, arms crossed. The red spikes flutter, and Roxina shoves a piece of black hair away from her face. She peers over the ledge. She regrets it. She inches closer to Axel.

"Very well."

His voice is low, tender, and dark. A tone Roxina has never heard from her fellow Nobody before.

"Here's a little secret of my own. A little morsel of truth from your Uncle Axel," he adds flippantly.

Then his gaze rests squarely on her.

"Trust what you remember, seek what you forget, and you will find someone very special." Axel's nostrils flare slightly, and his eyes dart back to the castle, creamy stone against the lavender sky. The platform glides forward.

Roxina can only nod, chewing on the words that haven't been given lightly. In the distance, Griever roars once more. Roxina can see the darkness that this monster is attracting. Heartless are crawling all over the balconies of the approaching castle.

"Or at least, maybe you'll find someone who likes your lame poetry," Axel adds, and didn't that just ruin the moment.

"MEANY!"

* * *

 **8 Acres East**


End file.
